Stupid Horse!
by Rosethorn
Summary: Krystal gets Chosen! But there's a problem...read to find out what it is. Is finished for now. The further adventures of Krystal and co. may show up later. If I think of a plot.
1. Companion

A/N: For the sake of this story, assume that Krystal and Tremane are visiting the border to help out the mentioned Heralds. For those of you who've read Coup de Main, ignore the timeline. Thank you.

"Just my luck," Krystal muttered, picking herself out of the dirt. "My mare _would_ decide to dump me in the middle of nowhere."

Well, it wasn't exactly the middle of nowhere. She wasn't more then a ten-minute walk from home. But still! 

"Father is going to be furious with me," she told the trees, for lack of anything better to do. Besides, the silence unnerved her. "We were supposed to meet with those Heralds today. Lord and Lady, I am in so much trouble. If only I had a horse!"

Almost simultaneous with her words, a white stallion stepped out of the woods in front of her. He was fully tacked, with blue leather saddle and bridle, and he seemed to be looking for someone. 

"Oh, this is too perfect," Krystal told him. "I ask for a horse, and you appear. You can't be a wild horse, either; even if someone could catch and tack one, you're far too beautiful. I wonder if you'd let me ride you?" She cocked her head to the side. The stallion's eyes seemed to glow, with warmth. "I think you would," she said, and walked forward. She swung her leg over his back and settled herself in the saddle.

Then he took off.

She screamed--she couldn't help it. The sudden speed combined with a painful jolt against the back of the saddle and the sure knowledge that they were headed east scared her very badly. 

_East...east...what's in the east? Could someone have trained him to kidnap me? Oh, gods, what have I gotten myself into?_

_ Father is going to _kill_ me._

It was sunset when the horse finally stopped his headlong rush. He shook his head rather violently, then stopped in a clearing containing a small house. Krystal dismounted and knocked, but there was no answer. The horse nudged her back.

"You!" She whirled. "This is all your fault! Here I am, gods know how far into Valdemar, lost, alone, and not even speaking the language! How in hell am I supposed....to..."

She trailed off as the stallion brought his head up and looked straight into her eyes.

His eyes were blue. A warm, welcoming blue that wrapped around her and held her in loving arms, a blue that surrounded her and filled her....

_:Welcome, Krystal, king's daughter. I, Dixon, do Choose you to be my Herald. I love you, and I will never leave you.:_

She stumbled back, a sob catching in her throat. "I....I can't! I can't be a Herald!"

"Why not?"

She whirled. Standing in the door of the house was a man, head cocked to one side. Reddish-brown hair fell over one bright blue eye. 

"Excuse me?" she asked, carefully. "I don't understand you."

He swore (she could tell by the tone) and spoke again. "Sorry. Automatic translation. Why can't you be a Herald?"

"W-well, I can't! I have responsibilities at home, I'm my father's only child, I...I..."

"Things like that can be taken care of," he said, leaning against the door. "I'm Jemmie. Jadus, actually, but my parents said I have to grow into that name and it appears I haven't. You?"

"Krystal." His eyes widened. 

"Tremene's daughter?"

"Adopted daughter, but heir as far as our people are concerned. You see why I can't be a Herald?"

"Good gods. _That's _going to cause some havoc at the ol' diplomatic table. Gema, love," he spoke to someone behind Krystal, "tell Rolan about this, all right?" Pause, then, "No, I can tell Dad and Kyril. They've got enough Mindspeech to hear me." Another pause. "Because it's better to tell too many then too few."

He focused on Krystal again. "What? What are you looking at?"

"Who were you talking to?"

"Gema. My Companion."

"_Companion?"_ she squeaked. "You're a Herald?" 

"Yeah. I'm not on-duty at the moment, so I'm not in Whites, and I didn't want to stay in the camp. So I ran off to the Waystation. Why?" 

"B-but...but...oh gods!" She sat down and cried. 


	2. Confusions

Jemmie, dismayed, sat down too. He wasn't half the Empath his mother was, but he could tell this girl was not happy.

Well. You didn't even need to be an Empath for that.

Still, he had no experience with crying girls, except for his sisters, and all of _them_ would immediately tell him what was wrong. _:Papa?:_

_ :What is it, Jemmie?:_ His father's reasurring voice. Mama would know what to do.

_:I told you about Krystil being Chosen, right? Well, now she's collapsed on my doorstep, crying. And I have no idea why.:_

_ :Need your mother, do you? Well, I'll see if she's free.: _There was a pause, and then his father returned, _:She'll be there in a while. Jemmie, try not to attack her.:_

_ :I only did that once!:_ But his father was gone, and Jemmie grumbled. Parents. They never let you forget your mistakes. 

Krystal wiped her eyes and nose and blinked. The man...no, he said his name was Jemmie...was sitting in the doorway, apparently asleep. "Er..."

Someone said something in Valdemaren. She jumped and whirled. A tiny, birdlike woman on a rather large Companion cocked her head and repeated herself. Jemmie said something from behind her, and then added, in Hardonian, "She doesn't speak Valdemaren. I thought I told Papa that."

"No, actually, you didn't." She dismounted. "And may I say that Dixon has caused us some trouble?"

"I thought he would." Jemmie sighed. "Not my fault."

"Excuse me," she said, to Krystal. "I've forgotten my manners. I'm Talia...Jemmie is my son."

"Mama's twice the Empath I am," Jemmie added. "Thought she could help you."

Talia...the name rang a bell in Krystal's head, but she couldn't quite remember..."Oh!" she exclaimed as it came back. "You're the Queen's Own!"

Talia nodded, smiling. "Yes, I am. Unfortunately, I'm also the only Empath apart from my children..."

"And Shandi," Jemmie interjected.

"...yes, and Shandi, and that gives me a great deal of work."

"And Kat and Josev and Tallen and Reane," Jemmie continued.

"Yes, thank you, Jemmie, that's enough."

"Sorry."

"Anyway. I have to ask you to come back to camp with me."

"Why am I not surprised?" Jemmie muttered. 

Talia shot a look at her son and continued, "We have to reassure your father that you actually have been Chosen and you are safe. He's not too sure. Currently our Guard and his Guard are glaring at each other across the border."

"Oh. I...I can't be a Herald."

"Of course you can. It's just going to take some fancy diplomatic footwork. Come on, then."

"I'll stay here," Jemmie said immediately.

"I never expected anything else. Krystal?"

With a sigh, Krystal remounted the stallion. He seemed unbearably smug as he pranced forwards.

"Here we are," Talia said, after about five minutes. Krystal gaped.

The Valdemaren camp was simple but busy, busier then the palace. Men and women in green, white, scarlet and blue were all moving at various speeds to various places. There was a cluster of white horses--_:Companions,:_ Dixon said, unexpectedly--off to one side. Over by the largest tent, a swirl of white-clad people surrounded a woman in white, her golden hair shining in the sun. A solider stood out as a spot of blue.

Talia set a course towards these people. Along the way, she was stopped by a man in green and a collection of children in gray, two of whom called her Mama. Krystal wondered just how many children Talia had.

At last they reached the woman in white. "Selenay!" Talia called, waving. She continued in Valdemaren. 

The woman...the _Queen_...turned, and smiled, answering in a welcoming tone, then turning to the solider beside her and giving him an order.

The solider bowed and hustled most of the rest off. Three men in white remained: one with a frightening, hawklike face, one who resembled her father's hunting hounds, and one homely man, who engulfed Talia in a hug. She returned it, warmly.

_:Er...Dixon?Who's that?:_

_ :Dirk. Talia's lifemate. They have four children. I knew you were going to ask that.:_

Krystal blushed. Talia and the Queen were chattering in Valdemaren now. The man kept one arm around her waist as she talked. After a moment, the Queen nodded and turned to Krystal.

"I'm sorry about all this," she said, waving at the camp. "Life has been rather hectic and it's all _his _fault. You know, Dix, of all the pranks you've pulled, this is the worst by far."

_:Thank you, thank you very much,:_ Dixon said with a heavy accent. Krystil was startled into a laugh. 

The Queen smiled. "He made a smart remark, I suppose. I'm not surprised. Welcome to Valdemar."

Krystal bowed her head shyly. "I'm sorry, but I...I can't be a Herald."

"I heard. I actually don't see why not, although it's going to be a tad difficult as far as internship and loyalty questions go. Now..." The Queen shaded her eyes, and grinned. "I see Randon got your father."

"Krystal!" Her father galloped over, reining his gelding and grabbing her off Dixon. "When the mare came back without you we thought...oh, gods, Krys, don't ever do that to me again."

"It wasn't entirely her fault," the Queen put it. "Companions tend to not take no for an answer."

"Companions?" Tremane didn't let go of Krystal.

"I was Chosen, Daddy," Krystil said, pointing at Dixon. "I told him I couldn't be a Herald, but he wouldn't listen to me."

_:I should hope not.:_

"Well, that's ridiculous."

"I know, Daddy, that's what I told them."

"I fail to see why," Queen Selenay told them. "We can hopefully protect her adequately enough, and having a Herald as a monarch is no bad thing."

"But I'm supposed to be Queen!"

Selenay raised an eyebrow. "I am Queen, and being a Herald hasn't stopped me any."

"But Heralds have to be loyal to the crown of Valdemar," Tremane pointed out. "Krystal cannot, as Queen of Hardorn, have that loyalty."

"I bet we can work around that," Talia put in. "Having the morals and ethics of a Herald would be no bad thing for Hardorn. And..." she trailed off, and shared a significant look with her lifemate.

"And what?" Krystal asked suspiciously. 

"Nothing." Talia shook her head, her curly hair falling down around her face. "Nothing."

"We can certainly work around the loyalty," Selenay said thoughtfully. "I think...yes, it would only take slight modification of the oath. The Herald's Creed actually makes very little mention of loyalty to the crown, and only at the very end. Everything else is really about the moral behavior of a Herald."

"But I can't learn anything about Hardorn!" Krystal wailed. "I need to know those things, and..."

"Hush, love," Tremane said gently. "From what your tutors tell me, you could probably teach the class on Hardorn. You know enough about our country to be Queen now, if you needed to."

"For her internship, I could have you as my special attachè," the Queen said. "That's what I did with Kris and Lyra. You could see how I run my country, and decide if you want to the same at your home."

_:Please?:_

Krystal started; it was the first time Dixon had spoken in her head since Tremane arrived. There was such longing and sadness in the Companion's voice, where there had been only confidence before. She couldn't refuse that sadness, and looked at her father with pleading eyes.

Tremane sighed. "Oh, all right. You keep her safe, hear?" He addressed the Queen. Krystal tried not to smirk at his words, and Dixon exuded a quiet but intense relief. 

"We will," Selenay said, smiling at Tremane. "We will."


End file.
